Victory under adversity: Nicolao Dumitru in action after coming on as a substitute for Kuala Lumpur against Perak on Sunday. – KAMARUL ARIFFIN / The Star
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur’s Swedish-born Italian forward Nicolao Dumitru is still savouring the sweetest surprise after a sour last few weeks.
The 34-year-old became the City Boys’ unlikely goal hero in their dramatic Malaysia Cup round-of-16 second leg win over Perak on Sunday.
Dumitru was brought on as a substitute despite not being fully fit when the game was tied 2-2 on aggregate, and he went on to turn heads by rising to head home the winner in extra time.
Going by his feat, it is hard to believe that he is still recovering from a hamstring tear that has sidelined him for nearly three weeks.
The medical staff were expecting a recovery period of at least three to four weeks, but coach Risto Vidakovic had to take a chance on Dumitru due to issues of squad depth and players’ fatigue.
Dumitru was both happy and relieved that he was able to make an important contribution when needed.
“It was a really tough game. When you know you need to score more than two goals and the opponents are sitting deep, mentally it becomes harder as time goes on,’’ said Dumitru, who has featured for Italian club Napoli.
“I’m happy I could come in and help, even though I was not feeling 100 per cent yet.
“I just want to get fully fit again and keep giving my best.”
KL had lost the first leg 2-0 in Ipoh. In the second leg, KL dominated possession in the first half but were frustrated by Perak’s disciplined defending.
They had to wait until the 54th minute for the breakthrough when winger Safawi Rasid converted a penalty after a lengthy VAR deliberation by referee Razlan Joffri Ali.
Captain Paulo Josue curled home a superb free-kick deep into injury time to level the aggregate score before Dumitru rose to the occasion to put KL through.
KL will face Terengganu in the quarter-finals, with the first leg at the Sultan Mizan Stadium in Gong Badak on Feb 7, and the second at the Cheras Football Stadium on Feb 13.
